Read Anything Good Lately?

I haven't done a meme in a while and since I'm such a bibliophile, it's only fitting that I do one that's centered around books. Here goes...

1. First book to leave a lasting impression?
That would have to be The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, since I'm stil reading it and loving it all these years later.

2. Which author would you most like to be?
J.K. Rowling! She created a super cool world that the entire universe knows about and she has more money than God. What's not to like?

3. Name the book that has most made you want to visit a place?
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara made me want to visit Gettysburg with a vengeance.

4. Which contemporary author will still be read in 100 years time?
I'm going with J.K. Rowling again. I don't think Harry Potter's going to fade over the next 100 years.

5. Which book would you recommend to a teenager reluctant to try ‘literature’?
Can I use Harry Potter again? Everyone I know has enjoyed them.

6. Name your best recent literary discovery?
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville. Thanks to my dear friend Andrew. A cross between Alice in Wonderland and Terry Pratchett. Weird, wonderful, and charming.

7. Which author’s fictional world would you most like to live in?
Hmmm... I might say the world of the Blue Sword, but that's mostly desert and I don't do well with heat. I think I have to go with Harry Potter yet again! But, as a wizard, not a muggle.

8. Name your favourite poet?
Tennyson. Specifically, "The Lady of Shalott."

9. What’s the best non-fiction title you’ve read this year?
I don't think I've read any non-fiction this year... Is that bad?

Friday Quote

"Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tir'd;
But then begins a journey in my head,
To work my mind, when body's work's expir'd:
For then my thoughts (from far where I abide)
Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
Looking on darkness which the blind do see:
Save that my soul's imaginary sight
Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,
Which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night,
Makes black night beauteous, and her old face new.
Lo, thus, by day my limbs, by night my mind
For thee, and for myself, no quiet find."
-Sonnet XXVII, William Shakespeare

I'm no David Tennant, but...

I have super cool Doctor Who shoes!

I've had them for a few weeks now and I just can't help smiling at them.

Now, if we want to be technical, they're not Converse and they're not hightops, and they're not maroon. Whatever. He wears black ones when he's wearing a tux. (A moment of silence to contemplate David Tennant in a tux... Sigh.)

The fact that I have to wait until Christmas for a new episode of Doctor Who sucks! But, the possibility of a movie is SWEET! Fingers and toes crossed.

The label for this post is "Rare Attempts at High Fashion," but these are more Mid-Fashion, I think.

Am I strange? Oh, yes.

Friday Quote

“Nights like those are never forgotten.... Nights that leave a mark.”
-The Year of the Hiker by John B. Keane

Why is it?

Why is it that we use the French word "merde" ("shit"), when we want to wish someone luck for a performance?

Anybody know?

A Begrudging, and Yet Lovely, Walk

This past Saturday, my parents and I enjoyed Utah's lovely nature by hiking Wheeler Canyon. It's up the road to Snow Basin, pretty close to home, a fairly leisurely stroll, and pretty damn gorgeous. I didn't have my camera with me, but hey, in this day and age, a cell phone is the next best thing.

There was a red leaf in the background of this one that Mum wanted me to catch with the purple berries, but it doesn't really come through in the photo. (Yes, the leaves are already turning color here. They don't turn in L.A. until January.)




This was much nicer to find in the trail than the huge piles of steaming horse poo we found before.



Tiggers may not like thistles to eat, but they're still rather lovely to look at.

And, yes, as we were walking and trading stories of our first encounters with hard liquor (Hey! That's my next post!), Mum told me of these miraculous walking sticks that exist out there that have flasks in the handles. Sweet, yes?

She's says if I decide to stick around, she'll buy me some. Now that's a mother's love.

In Absentia

So...

Tonight Theatre Banshee starts rehearsals for it's new show The Year of the Hiker....

I'm not there.

Yes, my aunt and her hubby are SMing in my place. Yes, this makes me feel slightly better. Yes, I've agreed to do the sound design from two states away.

Would I rather be there for the next six weeks, missing on sleep, nagging people to learn their lines, setting props, learning cues, recording blocking, and otherwise working my ass off?

Bet your ass.

At 8pm (Utah time) tonight, I'll think of them all gathering, handing out scripts, introducing the newbies, shaking off the dust since the last show. That perfect little black box, waiting for the magical transformation that will occur over the next month and a half.

Damn.

On a lighter note, my mom has offered to buy me a set of walking sticks with a flask in the handle of one, if I decide to stay in Utah. More on that next time.

Friday Quote

The Doctor: [gets out a small machine] "I tracked you down with this. This is my timey-wimey detector. Goes ding when there's stuff. Also it can boil an egg at thirty paces." [Makes a face] "Whether you want it to or not, actually, so I've learned to stay away from hens; it's not pretty when they blow...."
-Doctor Who, "Blink"

Dancin' Fool

Last Saturday, my mom and I went to the Eccles Community Art Center to take an African dance class. It was weird to actually take a class there, instead of teaching one. (We taught two through six year olds how to skip for ten years.) The teaching master was named Ibou Ngom and he's from Senegal.

Since he couldn't remember anybody's name, he just made up names for us. He called me Jessica and Jennifer. I figured, "Whatever. He's adorable." There was a blonde woman who got a little irked when he called her Britney Spears. Full points for her.

The dance style was called Sabar and was a lot of fun. Ibou kept nagging us to keep smiling. It's hard to smile when you can't catch your breath.

After an hour and a half, we "knew" all the steps for a celebration/welcome dance. It was, quite literally, a kick in the pants.

After we had gone home and showered off the copious amounts of sweat, we went to a dinner party at the home of the woman who had organized Ibou's visit. (She also teaches a regular African dance class.) He cooked chicken with peanut sauce for us that was tastiest food I've had in quite a while. There was also homemade hummus, brownies with applesauce, a bulgar wheat salad with cucumbers and feta, and many bottles of wine.

Apparently we crapped out of the party before the real fun began, but we had a great time anyway.

An excellent way to pass a Saturday. And tomorrow? A trip to the Fine Arts Museum in Salt Lake City for a day of Monet, Rodin, and Gainsborough.

And to think of all those people in Los Angeles who thought I'd have no exposure to culture in Utah. I'll show them, won't I?

PBS Has Never Frightened Me Before

While channel-surfing sans sound the other night, we came across some scary dudes in suits singing on a stage. This was on KBYU, the local public television station sponsored by, you guessed it, BYU. I figured it was going to be some highly amusing "Joseph Smith"-singing thing that would make me pee my pants with laughter. I said, "Turn it up," with more than a little glee in my voice.

Within the first five seconds, I recognized it as one of the last choruses of "Into the Fire."

My favorite song from The Scarlet Pimpernel, the musical that changed my life, that should only EVER be sung by Douglas Sills, and here's this lame-ass dude in a faky white wig belting it out.

I gasped. And I hate gasping.

Mum figured it out almost as fast as I did and said, "Oh no..."

Even my dad figured it out, after a minute.

After the horror died down, we laughed really hard.

You probably had to be there.